It is not fresh  news that aspartame is a scary substance.  At least the current banter through the Web  keeps affirming it is true.  Even the quiet filtering down from the slow -to- admit- our problems science community  says so more and more. Stay away from aspartame. 

As it starts to migrate into new ‘product branding’ you might see aspartame now disguised as  “Amino Sweet’.  Ah, that is so cute.  Regardless of the fun sounding party name, aspartame and its frolicking new nick name  will remain as frightening as it always has been.  Changing its name to something more “appealing and memorable” will not change the dangers one iota.  Not one.  It seems to be a real deal that aspartame (which is amino acids run amuck, found accidentally in the lab as being sweet)  is not good for our brains.  Bet you knew that already.

I personally haven’t had a drop of anything ‘diet’ for many years, or maybe  never.. I think I tested a diet drink  on my tongue years ago, even back in the ‘old days’ when artificial sweeteners were things like saccarin, and  I didn’t like that then.  I’m glad I got the ‘intuitive hit’ not to use these artificial things and never got into it. 

Did you  ever see the DVD  ”Sweet Misery:A Poisoned World”?  It is the personal journey of a young woman, Cori Brackett,  who was riddled with Multiple Sclerosis symptoms and she decided to follow the illness thread back to her first exposure to aspartame.   It was well done for a novice speaker with a camera and a microphone.  She uncovered amazing evidence.  She  exposes our government officials all the way back to the 70’s when the cover up occurred as to the damage these aspartame chemicals were causing in the brains of the laboratory animals they were testing.  Ah, didn’t matter.   The clever corporate goofballs bought their government partners,  a judge was purchased, and the vote from the FDA of  aspartame’s pretend safety is now history.

An interesting website full of information to peruse is www.sweetpoison.com. This site has been around awhile and I invite you to have a look.

Dr. Russell Blaylock, neurophysician, now involved in the  nutritional sciences, has written a book on the various ‘excitotoxins’ we are faced with in this day and age.  What is sad to me is that we are ‘choosing’ to put many of these chemicals in our bodies  simply because we are told by the Big Guys who are supposed to keep us safe in this world say it is ok. 

Poor,  Poor us.

I recommend to my client base that they switch to wholesome fruit juices (without high fructose corn syrup, which really blasts your pancreas fast…it is not our friend either)..and to drink pure water… make your own lemonade.. use honey.. use Stevia, it is wonderful and safe also for diabetics and hypoglycemics..   Eventually,  Splenda will prove out to be uhhealthy as well, and will try to take up the slack from dwindling aspartame business as the public gets wiser and wiser.    The ultimate thought:  do not put unnatural, manmade sweeteners into your body…..(or trans fats, like margarine, or processed oils, or anything else that was created in a laboratory for convenience, speed and shelf life.)

I just like to keep the blog posts up here and there about aspartame.  I don’t want any of us to go back to sleep as to the degree of danger we face in ingesting these excitotoxins on a regular basis. 

Back to Dr. Blaylock.

Dr. Blaylock has written and illustrated three books. The first book was on the subject of excitotoxins (Excitotoxins: The Taste That Kills) and how they are related to diseases of the nervous system. His second book, Health and Nutrition Secrets That Can Save Your Life, covers the common basis of all diseases, nutritional protection against diseases of aging, protection against heavy metal toxicity, the fluoride debate, pesticide and herbicide toxicity, excitotoxin update, the vaccine controversy, protection against heart attacks and strokes and contains a new chapter on omega-3 fats. This book has been newly revised as an oversized paperback. His third book, Natural Strategies for Cancer Patients, was released in April, 2003 and discusses the ways to defeat cancer, enhance the effectiveness of conventional treatments and prevent complications associated with these treatments. In addition, he has written and illustrated three chapters in medical textbooks, written a booklet on nutritional protection against biological terrorism and written and illustrated a booklet on multiple sclerosis. He has written over 30 scientific papers in peer-reviewed journals on a number of subjects.

      Dr. Blaylock serves as the medical consultant for the Fluoride Toxicity Research Collaborative. He was recently awarded the Integrity in Science award by the Westin Price Foundation. Presently, he is a visiting professor in the department of biological sciences at Belhaven College in Jackson, Mississippi.

At present he is a member of the American Association of Physicians and Surgeons, the American Nutraceutical Association, the International and American Associations of Clinical Nutritionist, American College of Nutrition, American Association for Health Freedom, National Health Federation, American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine and the Price-Pottenger Nutrition Foundation. He was recently appointed as a member of the Scientific Advisory Panel of the Life-Extension Foundation.

Now that we have covered a great physician who is championing for the awareness for all of us about dangerous food additives, remember to keep reading even more intricate science by Dr. Hildegarde Staninger, the heirarchy of our Team here.   If you are environmentally ill, you will certainly want to get to know her science and her protocols. If you are not ill, you will certainly want to get to know her science and her protocols to stay well.  It could be your biggest challenge in the years to come as we are over exposed every single day to bioengineered food, clothing and medicinal products. Did I mention, aerial spraying, vaccines, drinking water.   We haven’t even seen the beginning of the nightmare.

Visit:  www.healinggrapevine.com for more on Doc Hildy (Staninger) or

www.hildegarde-staninger.com for deep science awareness about environmental illness and how to avoid it.

Check out your author here, click above tab, Toni Wright

Check out our Must Have products, click above tab… 

Thanks, readers, you are Great!   toni

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Dr. John Willard’s Catalyst Altered Water..Follow Up

 Good morning.. so as promised, I curled up with Dr. Willard’s booklet on his special water last night.   I can now see why our own Dr. Hildegarde Staninger is so enamored with the substance and thought I’d give you some highlights of what I learned.

 First I might add, it was more than a refresher for me.  I had consumed Willard’s Catalyst Altered Water (CAW) 22 years ago when I was ill in Nashville, but it was a little too little, and too late as I needed radical medical intervention. I did not consume it as instructed and had I done that, I wonder if the outcome would have been different.  I never brought Willard’s water back into view after that, and sadly so. If I’d have known then what I know now….  Ah, hindsight is great, isn’t it?

 What I learned (and relearned) is simple. We all ought to put drops of it in our drinking water and in the water we feed to our plants and to our animals.. and every day.  Here is a little synopsis on what I read.…

 First: What does water do?  Water carries the needed nutrients from the air, water, and food to the various portions of living things.  It also carries most of the waste materials out of the body.  It is a powerful antioxidant, therefore.

1. Willard water is  a vehicle by which nutrients are carried throughout the body’s cells, and by which waste is carried away from the cells with water as a means of transportation.  Water which has been altered by a catalyst, (as in Willard water) becomes wetter, more reactive, and more efficient, yet totally safe.  The catalyst can speed up a chemical reaction without changing the natural end results.  Plants, therefore, grow faster and wounds heal faster.
2. Willard Water act like a universal hormone because it is a normalizer of all living things that are not in their normal state.  Any living organism under stress, (any change that is not good for it) will respond by triggering its built-in natural defense mechanism.. further demonstrated by pain.  Pain is the result of damaged nerve cells not allowing the pain message to reach the appropriate pain center of the brain.   CAW can ‘coat’ the damaged cells, restoring them to their full operation.
3.  CAW  (as well as CAW XXX) also accelerates healing…the water merely optimizes the conditions necessary for the body to heal itself without artificial stimulation. 
4. One version of CAW (XXX) has lignite, which is the fossil vegetable remains of plants, trees and micro-organisms that grew in a ‘virgin’ environment long before man appeared on earth.  It may be thought of as a massive reserve of carbon and solar energy, stockpiled over millions of years and available to us now.    Lignite, with its amazing nutrition, also has carcinogenic and toxic compounds which are in the coal.   CAW XXX converts these dangerous ingredients into water soluble electrolyte alcohols and amino acids, giving us a source of water soluble carbon!   A lack of water soluble carbon is one of the major problems in agriculture and in health.
5. The same CAW that you can drink, bathe in, or put in your eye is the same one that attacks the lignite, converts it from a ‘bad guy’ to a ‘good guy’ and makes it water soluable.    NUTRIENTS HAVE TO BE WATER SOLUABLE TO BE ABSORBED AND BENEFICIAL TO PLANTS AND TO OUR BODIES. In summary,  CAW XXX contains natural amino acids from the lignite. CAW XXX helps break down consumed proteins.  It breaks down phosphates so they can be used.  It helps chelate trace minerals, such as potassium, sodium, iron and calcium so they can get into the cells.  Better yet, the trace minerals in CAW XXX are already in this form available for us.
6. The lignite has natural antibiotics, germicidals, and insecticidals, over 50 trace minerals and amino acids which are the foundation that builds protein.
7. CAW reputedly assists in returning the body to its normal state and assists in reducing Stress…  Stress is a nervous condition, connected to an interruption in the normal flow of hormones and electro-activity in the body.  During stress, the body has decreased ability to combat diseases.
8. CAW has other amazing talents…  by spraying the air, foul odors are completely eliminated.   Imagine a farmer spraying a chicken coop, manure load, or you can even spray your kitty litter box and completely eradicate the odor!
9. CAW helps the health of all livestock, increases farming productivity, (i.e. egg output),  even assisting in larger and healthier plants in greenhouses and  house plants as well.
10. CAW can be used as a safe cleaner for household tasks as well as more industrial tasks.  (even your oven!)
11. CAW can be used along with toothpastes, shampoos and other products for the body.  

If  this all sounds too good to be true, just know that this whole amazing creation of Dr. John Willard finally came to the forefront in 1980 when it was the topic of great interest in the House of Representatives.   There exists an informative pamphlet which is for sale by the Superintendent of Documents in the U.S. Government Printing Office.  It is called A Briefing by the Subcommittee On Health And Long-Term Care of the Select Committee on Aging.. U.S. House of Representatives, Ninety-sixth Congress, Second Session.

This booklet is quite interesting, and is full of questions to Dr. Willard, and includes his answers as well as countless testimonials personally submitted to the Committee regarding the health benefits.  These testimonials range from skin conditions, to arthritis, and even cancer.    It seems odd to me that the whole world is not privvy to this incredible information, and for sure, the incredible product.

 Finally, here is a statement as presented to this House of Representative’s Committee by Dr. John Willard, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus, South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, Chemistry Department, Rapid City, South Dakota:

 “Catalyst Altered Water is nothing more or less than ordinary water that has been modified by a catalyst that I happened to develop.  We have a form that is much more reactive than water….  When you look at this planet  Earth, this is a water world.  Three-quarters of its surface is probably covered with water.  All living things, at least on the surface of the Earth, are water oriented.  Man himself spends time in his mother’s womb as a sea animal up until the time the water breaks.  Then he becomes an oxygen-breathing animal.  So this is true: 68 percent of our bodies right now is water.  The young of the species may go up to 90 to 95 percent water.  It is essential for the growth of all plants and animals….water is essential.   But still, the regulatory agencies across the country, both State and National, will not admit that water is a nutrient…..So, that is the history and background of water.”

 In summary, imagine adding bio-available nutrition to your much required water quotas. This acclaimed additive, Willard Water,  certainly sounds like a Gift From The Heavens to me!  Inexpensive and easily available. 

For those of you who are interested in further information, or in obtaining some Willard Water of your own to try out, please contact me.  Dr. Willard used distilled water in all of his research and in developing Willard Water.  I am distilling my own water at home now as well.  I am not interested in buying distilled water (which also is in plastic containers) and will be happy to tell you about the distiller I have chosen to work with. 

Let me get you the best prices.. we are in a time where our money is precious, so let’s spend it wisely! 

 Write me at:  tonigwright@bellsouth.net and  I will help you on your path to healthy, dynamic water! 

Truly, toni/author

 (don’t forget to Meet The Author Toni Wright click the tab above.)

(don’t forget to check out The Must Have Products… click the tab above)

 for further more intense health information, visit:

www.healinggrapevine.com

www.hildegarde-staninger.com

www.toniwright.isagenix.com

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Good Evening, dear readers.

I’ve been at the computer for approximately 14 hours today and about to hit the sack,  yet I am compelled to write a BlogLite article here.. a quickie! a teaser!

I’m about to toddle off to bed with my little Dr. Willard booklet which will suggest to  me why Dr. Hildegarde Staninger, world renown toxicologist, is so involved with Willard Water.  She’s on our team now, and the many facets of her brain are sitting there for me to pick.  She is amazing and we are so grateful to have her as a mentor!

I am laughing because the first page I opened to in my Willard Water booklet was the inside page which said:

Dr. John Willard’s Catalyst Altered Water is not intended as medical advice.  Its intention is soley informational and educational.  Please consult a medical or health professional should the need for one be warranted.

heh.   

Is it any wonder that there are those of us looking far and wide for alternatives to reclaim our health?  A health professional, should there be a need for one?  Indeed.   Some good people I know have spent twenty-five years inside the medical system only to still be searching for consistent  feel good days.    I’m ready to read about Willard Water.

Here I go… Jammies on.  Reading glasses. I’ll get back to you soon!

Respectfully,   toni 

 (don’t forget to go Meet The Author, Toni Wright.. above tab)

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check out Dr. Hildegarde Staninger…  www.healinggrapevine.com

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I thought I’d tool on down cell phone research lane this morning.  Ah, not a lot has changed.   Scientists all over the world still differ in their opinions as to the hazards of putting cell phones up to your brain on a regular basis…  their microwave emitting heat and their radio frequency aside, many still believe they are not dangerous.  There are studies that have been going on since 1994, and poor little guys, they still can’t come up with reasonable science for us.

But.. do YOU have common sense?  I do. I have come back to my senses after being romanced by the convenience of a cell phone for many years.    It is a no-brainer to me that holding a hot, microwaving device up near my brain, no matter how low the emission, is a thing to do minimally.   I refer to some Australian science for a moment, and despite it is not conclusive (gads, won’t anyone step up to the plate?)  it is a step in the right direction.

By the way, I often have a strange, warm headache kind of sensation on the left side of my head after a long cell phone conversation.  I can, for sure, feel the ‘heating up’ of that area, including the blood vessels, etc.    I never use the phone on my right side, and I never have this sensation on the right side either.

Before I send you careening off into this report.. here is what I do about cell phone use.

1.  I keep an old fashioned ‘princess phone’, with a cord of all things, on the stand near the place that is my prevalent sitting spot in the living room.   For long chats, I use that.  Yes, I get my hot tea, curl up, talk on my little princess phone.  

2.  I keep my cell phone in the car with me for emergencies.  I rarely talk on it unless I need to call a client on the way to see him/her.   At that time, I pull over and make my call.  Unless I am expecting a call, I just keep the phone with me and turn it off.

3.  I use a ferrite bead on my cell phone cord that helps lessen the effects of electromagnetics emission, and who knows if that works, by at least psychologically, I feel better.  I’m not going to give up my cell phone completely as I live out in the country and love feeling a bit connected in bad weather  at night when I’m traveling alone.

You can read more about ferrite beads on Dr. Mercola’s site  www.mercola.com and make up your own mind about adding this hardware to your own phone.  Why not?  It is only around $14 and could be the best investment you ever make.  And what about the kids?  They have many many years ahead of radio frequency exposure and also computer exposure.  Get them started immediately on radio and microwave frequency safety in their lives.  

Here is one statement from Dr. Joseph Mercola, one of my mentors:

“Using a ferrite bead to eliminate the RFI from a computer cable, or keeping it from disrupting the function of your TV, is similar to using one to help eliminate the RFI from your cell phone that may be disrupting the normal function of your brain.

Here’s the bottom line: A ferrite bead is a simple and inexpensive tool that may help you reduce your exposure to cell phone radiation.”

So there you have it.  All the fancy words about cell phones and what they emit, it is basically a mini blast of ‘radiation’ going into your brain.

Do YOU have common sense?

And finally, forthcoming is the short paragraph from  the Australians.

Ziff-Davis reports that researchers in Australia have reported their hypothesis that normal mobile phone use can lead to cancer. The research group, lead by radiation expert Dr Peter French, principal scientific officer at the Centre for Immunology Research at St Vincent’s Hospital in Sydney, said that mobile phone frequencies well below current safety levels could stress cells in a way that has been shown to increased susceptibility to cancer.

The paper, published in the June 2001 issue of the science journal, “Differentiation”, says that repeated exposure to mobile phone radiation acts as a repetitive stress, leading to continuous manufacture of heat shock proteins within cells.

Their theory is that these proteins, which are sensitive to heat, are always present in cells at a low level, but are manufactured in larger amounts when the cell is stressed by heat or other environmental factors. These proteins repair other proteins that are adversely affected by the conditions, and are part of the cell’s normal reaction to stress. However, if they are produced too often or for too long, they are known to initiate cancer and increase resistance to anti-cancer drugs.

However, this group has reported absolutely evidence nor studies to substantiate this – it is only a theory.

Have a beautiful and safe day, Readers.  You are awesome!

Truly, author, Toni

(Meet The Author: click the tab on top of the homepage.)

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Water is one of the  most important ingredients of my healthy,  happy household.

I have been studying water for many years, and I wanted to pass along not only some valuable information on your drinking water, but also offer a quick solution to increasing the value  of   your water so you may get the maximum benefit from it. According to Dr. Batmanghelidj, M.D. water is one of the best medicines!

Here are a few benefits water provides:

Detoxification

Hydration

Mental clarity

Healthy skin

Healthy kidneys

Healthy digestion

Greater overall health

Do you know about some of the properties of water?  I mean, besides that it is wet and quenches your thirst?

Nearly all the water we drink is positively ionized.  It has been filtered and stripped of valuable electrons or negative ions.  This causes the water molecules to share electrons and clump together.  The result is fewer electrons to neutralize harmful free radicals.  Free radicals are reactive atoms or molecules with an unpaired electron.  How can we then neutralize free radicals found in regular drinking water? you may ask.

Stay tuned here.  Let’s look at a few more facts.

Water also has a pH.  (Potential of Hydrogen).  The pH Scale is a measure of the degree of the acidity or alkalinity of a solution as measured on a pH Scale of 0 to 14.   The midpoint of the pH scale is 7.0 and represents neutral, meaning the solution is neither an acid nor a base.  Numbers below 7.0 indicate acidity; numbers greater than 7.0 indicate basicity or alkalinity.

You may ask, what is alkalinity?

Alkalinity refers to basic compounds which have a pH greater than 7.  The human body provides clues regarding the value of alkalinity in the diet.  Bone health relies on a healthy acid/alkaline balance in the diet because when there is a net acid load, the body leaches bone minerals such as calcium to maintain proper blood pH.  Eating plenty of fruits and vegetables, which are alkaline-forming foods, helps maintain healthy blood pH levels in our bodies, protecting bones and balancing the potentially negative impact on an acidic diet that most of us consume in the form of meats, sodas, salted foods and processed foods.

Alkalized water helps to ensure maximum hydration at the cellular level, helping the body to efficiently cleanse away toxins in our systems. Water is essential to good health and is your body’s principal chemical component, making up, on the average, more than 60% of your body weight.  Every system in your body depends on water.  Lack of water can lead to dehydration which can drain your energy and make you feel tired. You can see how that could be true when you discover brain tissue is 85% water. A shortfall can be devastating!

According to  Dr. F.Batmanghelidj, M.D. (let’s just call him Dr. Batman!)  he teaches that:

“in advanced societies, thinking that coffee, tea, alcohol and manufactured beverages are desirable substitutes for the purely natural water needs of the daily stressed body is an elementary but catastrophic mistake.  It is true that these beverages contain water, but what else they contain are dehydrating agents.  They get rid of the water they are dissolved in plus some more water from the reserves of the body !”  Dr. Batmanghelidj has a book full of incredible information on water and the healing properties of increasing your hydration.  I truly suggest you pick up a copy of “Your Body’s Many Cries For Water”. It should be around $14.95 and will be well worth your investment of money and time.

Let’s look at another interesting paragraph or two of great information.

I have discovered a new proprietary technology, in the form of drops, you can add to your water of choice which will stabilize negative ions (the good guys), having more electrons and a high Oxygen Reduction Potential (ORP) to  help neutralize free radicals (the dangerous disease-causing bad guys)  found in regular drinking water, even bottled water.  Just a few drops added to each glass of water and will not only neutralize free radicals, but will encourage you to drink more water.  So many people were  not taught to drink adequate water as children and as result have a great resistance to it…. hydration is  One of the secrets of great health and longevity!

Here is my last footnote on this as we look at it simply here.  Water can be acidic.  If water falls below 7.0 on the pH scale, (you can keep in mind that battery acid is 0.0 and liquid drain cleaner is 14.0), you could be causing harm on a cellular level, especially if you already consume acidic foods like meats, coffee or processed foods.

An easy solution to conventional useless or even harmful water is IsaWater Alkalized concentrate.    Have a look at my favorite site, www.toniwright.isagenix.com and look at the products, listen to a quick educational DVD or two  and find out how easy it will be to change the personality of your present drinking water.    What a great and easy add on to your health program.  Also, whenever  you invest in any products through me within the Isagenix system, you will also get me  as your cleansing and fat burning coach!

Dr. Batman teaches we can learn how to use water to prevent and reverse premature aging, eliminate pains including heartburn, back pain, arthritis, colitis pain, anginal pain, migraines, eradicate symptoms of asthma, and hypertension all while losing weight effortlessly!

So Please contact me now and we’ll boost your hydration and improve your health effortlessly!

Happy hydration today and we’ll explore water again soon!

truly,  author    WHO IS THE AUTHOR?  Go to Meet The Author tab at the top of this page

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Hello to you all…

I just wanted to remind us all to have gentle thoughts today.  It has been almost 16 days since the Earthquake in our neighbor nation, Haiti.

The Earth has been shaking and rocking people around and crushing some to the ground hither and yon. Our fellow travellers in life in Haiti are experiencing the most critical woes a people can undertake, and it could be any one of us, at any time, so remember to send love and compassion and anything else in this strange economic time you feel led to share.

We never know when we, ourselves, will desperately need some sort of community. For instance……

It is hard to believe that it is already two years ago that my house and property were spared by the Tennessee tornado that travelled for over a hundred miles and flattened everything in its path, often in swatches  a half a mile wide.   We slept in the basement that night without power, without a battery radio (ok, that was ridiculous, but we now have a crank weather radio). We had no idea what was transpiring  only a couple of miles away from us in two directions as we rested but awake  in the dark with howling winds.. we were miraculously  in a safe V of the storm path and  I did not even lose one branch off  of one tree.

For the others not too far from me, it took an enormous community effort to get life going again.  Homes were devastated and I had never seen anything quite like it.  You could almost swear an atom bomb had gone off.   I got to see the power of an organized and hard working community up close and personal and was reminded, that as much of a loner as I am… we all need each other.

Our nation has its droughts, hurricanes, tornadoes, ice storms, flooding, fires.. we have the need at all times to have some sense of community nearby and now, through the magic of technology,  our community has become global as well.  Global needs stare us in the face each and every day…   pull up a chair, have your coffee, turn on the t.v. and watch the disaster unfold. 

Let’s remember those in harm’s way…. in Haiti…  related to us by hemisphere…. and do what we can.  Remember that even gentle, loving thoughts, if that is all you can contribute, are wonderful gifts to share to a people in pain.  Now or six months from now, they will be needing our friendship.

If you have a favorite charity and want to share your thoughts on it here, I would welcome that.  I have little personal knowledge of the many charities out there on this global scale, so let’s open a dialogue.   In my research, UNICEF claims to contribute all of their contributions to the people in need.  That is a huge difference from many charities who give one dollar  out of five!     One dollar out of five????

Tell me what you know about this!  and thank I you for it!

  I send my caring to you all, and I’ll talk with you soon…

truly, author    So,  WHO IS THE AUTHOR?  Click on the Meet The Author Tab Above.

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Sugar. Gotta love it.  I hope you all know by now I don’t mean white table sugar or cane sugar.   I don’t mean high fructose corn syrup sugar either.  Or Brown sugar. (which is white sugar with some Molasses added back in. It is still highly processed.)   Other healthier seeming sugars like honey, molasses, maple, or agave sugars in moderation are still not the healthiest route to go for satisfying our sweet tooth.  All of these sugars cause or aggravate many health problems such as candida (yeast) infections,  type 2 diabetes, inflammation, obesity, pre-menstrual symptoms, fatigue and many others. 

 According to one of my nutritional mentors, Susan Lark, M.D.,  there are several health enhancing sugars that are considered to be therapeutic and we can cover a couple of them today.  These sugars create critical molecules made of sugars and proteins (called glycoproteins) and also critical molecules made of sugars and fats (called glycolipids).  We don’t get many of these in our diets today and they are actually essential.

 Our First shining sweet star:  Xylitol

  Xylitol sugar. if you haven’t heard of its powers by now, we need to explore for a moment.

 Xylitol is actually an ‘essential’ sugar and you may have heard it called ‘xylose’.  Research suggests it can help prevent digestive disorders and even cancer of the digestive tract, and has antibacterial and antifungal properties.  It discourages pathogens frombinding to mucous membranes. 

 Several years ago I dug up studies which showed that Xylitol killed Helicobacter pylori, the bacteria in the stomach that is now the known major cause of ulcers.  It is also knownnow that Helicobacter pylori, or H-Pyloria bacteria is also the same bacteria that causes dental caries (cavities) so this sugar has a one, two punch.    

 I have kept Xylitol sugar (it looks very much like white table sugar) in a dish in the bathroom specifically for dunking my toothbrush.  Of late, I have been buying  the Now Products brand Xylitol toothpaste and so I have stopped the dunking routine at least for now.   I love the smooth feeling of my tooth enamel after a session with Xylitol.   You can brush and then swish and swallow and it will help your gut as well!

 It translates well in baking also with the same proportions of Xylitol/table sugar and is easy to make a complete replacement of white sugar. 

 Now, for the second sweet shining star.   Mannose.

 Mannose is also a sugar.  Another  member of the glyconutrients family as is Xylitol.

 Mannose has antibacterial, antiviral, and antifungal properties.  It plays a key role in the formation of cytokines which are the chemicals that make you feel very achey when you get sick.  These cytokines then help you stimulate your immune system, fighting off parasitic invaders.   As does its glyco pal, Xylitol, it helps prevent ulcers as well as urinary tract infections.  Some research offers that Mannose also stimulates collagen production and that in turn helps to lessen inflammation associated with rheumatoid arthritis.

 According to Susan Lark, Mannose can be found in berries, such as blueberries, cranberries, gooseberries and currants.   Also.. you will find it in green beans, cabbage, turnips, kelp and Aloe Vera.  (my note: That could be the reason that people with systemic Lupus, a systemic inflammation autoimmune disorder,  start feeling better very soon when they start consuming aloe vera juice. I, by the way, recommend the whole leaf, organic aloe vera juice. Drink it freely)

Now… Let me introduce you to my own Bladder.  World, bladder.  Bladder, world.  

Three years ago I had a urinary tract infection so bad, so radical,  I could barely stand up, sit down, lie down, or do anything but almost cry.   I was a wreck.

I swore I could take care of it without  taxing my body with antibiotics and so I struggled for four days taking cranberry extract, cranberry juice, Vitamin C, you name it.  I drank water, and flushed and flushed and I did everything I knew how to do but it raged on.  At one point on the last evening before I was to go to my doc’s office for his suggestion, I thought I was going to have to load myself in the car and go to the emergency room for treatment.  I was at the point of not being able to, well, let’s just say emptying my bladder was almost impossible.    

 My integrative medicine doc friend  supplied me with a bottle of  D-Mannose (it was the Now Foods brand) and I took a teaspoon in a glass of water the moment I got to my office.    In about a half hour, my discomfort was leaving my body as I could use the restroom and empty my bladder.  I could not believe it. I was in awe, sheer awe.  All of the antibiotics down through the years that women in particular take to help with their bladders and UTI’s  (urinary tract infections)  would often exacerbate the situation and would become chronic their whole life from overuse of antibiotics.  I have read the testimonials of women who had UTI’s for 30 years,   lived on antibiotics and never got any relief.  In One or two doses of one bottle of D-Mannose, it was gone.    Why don’t we hear about this kind of thing all over the news?   Why isn’t it on a big billboard on the Interstate?

 I have told almost everyone I know at one point or another about D-Mannose and they have tried it and had the same good results.  It is just a great thing to file away in your brain in case you ever need it…  and maybe worth a try before getting out the bigger and more expensive guns.  Keep in mind I am not trying to diagnose, treat or cure you of anything.  (gads, I hate having to say that!)   But anything nutritional that can help you in a time of need I believe is valid.

 It is suspected that the D-Mannose provides a slick film that covers the mucous membranes in the bladder, urethra and any other place E-coli could live which is one of the main causes of bladder infections.   The E-coli can’t adhere to the walls  of your bladder and are then just flushed out when you urinate.  (I was going to say ‘pee’, but I don’t know you well enough!)

 Whatever the specific action is of D-Mannose, it was a miracle for me.  My infection left and it never returned.  I was only into it for about $20, and the best money I had spent in years. 

I like to remind women to try to avoid bladder infections by doing some hygiene after sex.  Either irrigate/douche your vaginal area and also urinate,  tossing out any E-coli you may have contracted during sex. ( it is very very easy to get it)  or just get up and go empty your bladder.  Every time. Every time you have sex.  Very important.

 It is always better to prevent than to have to cure, that is for sure!

 Alright, I think I have covered enough for one evening blog. I don’t want to overload you!  I’ll write again next on….  Stevia, more on Xylitol and some of the other glyconutrients we all need.  I will do some research on Luo Han Guo sweetener as well. 

Isn’t life great? 

 Could it be true?  We CAN have our cake and eat it too?   Yesssss!

AAAAAAh, sugar.  I love you, I love you, I love you!

 Best wishes today…

 truly,  author      WHO IS THE AUTHOR?  Click on Meet The Author tab above.

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Alright, that was a weird title.  I just wanted to see if you were listening!

I’ve been investigating new and disturbing facts about veneral disease (VD) in America and I thought it would be nice to open a dialogue about it.  Not the most appetizing topic, but let’s have a look at it anyway.  Most of us are at an age where we are grown up,  sexually active, (more than likely), or are at least a teen thinking about it, or an elder with grandkids who are embarking on their sexual lives.

So, let’s open this can of worms.

Did you know….From the National Center for HIV, 1 out of every 4  American girls (ages 14 to 19) are infected with at least one of the five (5) most common venereal diseases.  That delightful group would be

1) chlamydia   2) gonorrhea   3) herpes type II  4)  human papilloma virus  (HPV)  and  5) trichomoniasis.

Many of the girls (21%) claimed they had only had one sexual partner and were indeed infected with at least one  of the above named diseases.

Researchers at the Univ. of Indiana found in a recent study that their sexual study participants began having intercourse between 13 and 15 years old.  By the age of 15, twenty-five percent (25%) of the girls had a sexually transmitted disease. (STD)

Chlamydia seems to be the disease of the day.

Two years was the average lapse of time between initial or very first intercourse and their first infection.

Many of the sexually transmitted diseases today are difficult to diagnose and may go undetected for years.  (Imagine how many others can be infected as an infected  young person moves on in life to experiment with other partners…)  (College might be a huge petrie dish, don’t you think?)…. Undiagnosed STDs can cause urinary tract infections, reproductive problems, pain, pelvic inflammatory disease, cervical cancer, infertility, and on and on.  Some STD oriented urinary and reproductive tract problems can’t even be diagnosed by blood tests and cultures.

I watched Dr. Oz today, and observed a group conversation with a half a dozen young women, 16 to 18 years of age who were talking to their mothers for the first time about sexuality, STDs, pregnancy and other related topics.   Most claimed they had never even talked about it together before!  The group collectively did not know that any disease you can get from intercourse, you can get in your mouth as well.. for those of you who think oral sex is safe and is not sex  (Ok.. “I did not have sex with that women”.. who said that again?)  you are very wrong.  You can get STD’s in your mouth, throat,  you can get STD’s from having anal sex, and if one tiny little sperm makes it up the short distance from the anal sex activity to the vagina,  a person could possibly get pregant from that as well!  Holy Smoke!  Most of them didn’t know that 15% of the condoms being utilized leak or break and a pregnancy or STD can occur.   (Ok, Toni, what other fun, bad news do you have for us about sex?)  I won’t even get into teen pregnancy figures and I’ll for sure stay away from the topic of HIV/AIDS.   In fact, I  believe that down through the years, the focus on sex and AIDS has overshadowed the dialogue about the other diseases we are talking about here.   These diseases seem to be squeezing back out of the closet lately, demanding we give them louder discourse.

Where are we folks?  Where is our dialogue?  Do we not have time?  What are we afraid of?

Are we afraid our children will suddenly figure out we know something about sex and that we do it too?  Heaven forbid…  Are we afraid we will find out that they are sexually active and we would rather not know?  Are we convinced that they for sure, due to their pristeen upbringing, are not sexually active yet?  Forget that one.  More than likely, if  you have a teen, they are experimenting.  Don’t be naive, and don’t pretend.  It could be life shattering or even lethal to plea ignorance. Whatever our fears, it is time to overcome the ‘don’t ask’, don’t tell’ stigma that exists still, today, in our open society full of volumes of  available community information.  

When my son was 17,  (twenty two years ago) we talked about sex til the cows came home. I wasn’t comfortable with it, but I acted like an expert, spoke with dignity, talked and listened and ultimately (right or wrong) bought him some condoms in his last quarter of high school when he had a serious girlfriend for the first time.   The back seat of the car was inevitable at that point. (I have never regretted it and I believe he still appreciates my candor.)

So, I would have to say, this article is primarily about communication.  Get on out there and no matter how much your young adult or puberty-bound child doesn’t want to discuss it,  hoping to keep you out of their private sexual life, be the LEADER.  Be the parent and let them be the child.    Be or find an AUTHORITY, a person, a book, a class.  Make this dialogue about sex be a healthy one, a happy one,  not of sheer fear, but of hope, and beauty where they can one day engage in a loving, graceful physical relationship with someone else.

You will be amazed that you can lovingly  find your way through it.

I’ll talk to you soon,  talk to me about this.. and  please remain,

So.Well……..

truly, admin

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Dear Readers….

A bit late here with my well wishes, but happy happy new year to you all.

It is January, 2010. 

I can honestly say, I have no idea where most of 2009 went.  It was just the holidays and now we are speeding our way towards Valentine’s Day in a new year.  More than likely, it will be June in a minute or two, half way to another Christmas season!   (Are  you all experiencing this as well? How fast are our lives going?)

My life was splattered with a battery of family crises and events that took me from my blogging duties in mid 2009.  Many of those challenges are settled, some are lingering but have become manageable and faded.  But I’m back and I’m ready for action to share with you all once again!

First of all, I want you to know that I am a health care practitioner, and I am on the verge of being a bit of an idiot with internet interactions.  I work as a healer, I write what I know about but expertise on the Internet?  Nah, I leave that to my team to figure out.  Of course my computer team told me last summer  to get out there in the world with my information and that if I built it, they would come. 

 Listen,   I had no idea the impact that my writing would have on here, how many people would show up and for sure, how many people would leave a comment for me, appreciating and praising my articles here.   I am in awe!  You, my Dear Readers, are truly awesome!

 Hundreds of you have left comments for me.  Wow… now what do I do?  I’m laughing at myself at how exciting it is to have your audience here and now I want to write about EVERYTHING!

I want to personally communicate with YOU ALL!

Truly, that is not possible.  But I’ll do my best.  I promise to keep writing.. I promise to keep reading your comments, and it is my mission to feel and appreciate each and every one of you as you share here.

One reader wrote to me:  “I have never left a comment before on a website, but I was compelled to do so after reading your article on the Swine Flu”..

Another left a comment, “I read your article and then read it again. I finally understand what is going on about this issue”.  

 Others.. “thank you, well written”….

“I am certainly going to bookmark you, thanks”… 

On and On. 

I am just one little woman.  I will do my best to be here for you.

We are all in this huge  pot of  humanity soup.. tethered to this place we call Earth, spinning gently in space and asking more and more, where are we going?  

So…Let’s keep talking.  And sharing….  Honing in on compassion and living each day the best we can, enjoying this rather mysterious journey together!

Again, thank you, my Dear audience for letting me be a part of your lives.  

YOU have made MY day!

lovingly, toni

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Good morning.. Happy September 18th!

Keeping with the latest Internet frenzy  of deeply processing, stressing and asking for blessings about Swine flu (and the scare that is being generated), here is a must read article from Dr. Mercola.  Doc M (Joseph) is an interesting guy I had the pleasure of working with about ten years ago in Chicago.  He organized and sponsored my Neurostructural Therapist seminar (an effective bodywork technique which is a spin off of the Bowen Technique out of Australia)  I found him to be amazingly intelligent, organized and spiritually ‘present’,  and I  feel privileged to have met him.  He has since created one of the or perhaps the largest integrative/alternative medicine sites in the world on the Internet.  (www.mercola. com)  You will find me referencing him here and there in my blogs as I have found him and his site to be an incredible resource, a vast wealth of information which aims to show both sides of an issue.   It challenges us to use our own brains and maybe even our intuition to find our way through all of the health and wellness mazes that challenge us.

So, below is a Must Read. Read it twice and send it to others you know and love  for their consideration.  Just another opportunity for you to search your own intellect and your own heart for the path that is right for you in this up and coming flu season.  and Thanks Dr. M.         We luv ya, man.

To Your Health,

toni/Admin

S.O.Well.

(Spring of Wellness)

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